This book will change your life

What are Power Stories? What makes them so effective? And why do you need eight of them? Prepare to harness the lost art of storytelling as you transform your brand into an icon and your customers into loyal advocates!

Valerie has run keynotes or workshops for:

Podcast: So you want to be a writer

Get your weekly dose of news in the world of writing, publishing and blogging. Join Valerie Khoo and co-host Allison Tait as they give you insider gossip and ideas on how to make it as a successful writer.

Valerie Khoo

Valerie is founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre and author of Power Stories. She is a podcaster, blogger and keynote speaker.Read more.

Learn now

Want to learn from Valerie? You’ll find a range of self-paced and tutor-led courses to suit your learning goals run by Valerie and her team.Find out more.

Free ebook

Sign up for my weekly newsletter and you’ll receive the report “Storytelling secrets of highly profitable businesses”, powerful tips on business growth, special offers and a peek into my entrepreneurial journey. Sign up now!

Podcast: So you want to be a Photographer

Get your weekly dose of news in the world of photography, publishing and blogging. Join Valerie Khoo and co-host Gina Milicia as they give you insider gossip and ideas on how to make it as a successful photographer.

How to write a business book

Everything you need to know about how to write your book – and get it published. Bestselling author and CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre Valerie Khoo leads you step by step in your publishing journey.

If you want to get the best bang for buck – or give your client the best bang for their buck – all it takes is a bit of planning and forethought.

In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss how you to get multiple shots from your portrait photo shoots. And we’re not just talking about getting your subject to bring heaps of different clothes. Here, we outline how one pose can achieve a variety of looks, and how to create differences with only micro-adjustments.

In Episode 114 of So you want to be a writer: Discover which author broke through after four flops and the author afraid to listen to her own audiobook. We discuss if cursive writing now obsolete and more reasons to sometimes write by hand. Impress (or tire) your friends with the meaning of soporific and meet Australian graphic novelist Shane W Smith. Is Livescribe or Microsoft Surface better for writers and are you making these author blog mistakes?

Sometimes, you have to work with what you’ve got. Life doesn’t always provide you with perfect shooting conditions.

So, in this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss how you can find great daylight for portraits anywhere. They also talk about the importance of exposing for different parts of the image – and the surprising results you can achieve from this.

In Episode 113 of So you want to be a writer: What was the defining moment that made you become a writer? Find out why women are killing it in crime writing and the reason why essay writing services are booming. Impress your friends with the origin of the word ‘nicotine’. Meet bestselling children’s author Belinda Murrell. Also: when should you call in a freelance editor and why author manners are important.

What happens when you head to Sicily with a group of photography enthusiasts to capture a series of awesome portraits, combined with an unforgettable culinary journey? Well, Gina Milicia has done just that. And in this episode, she shares her adventures with Valerie, along with: what gear she packed, what went wrong, how she achieved her shots, and what the group learnt along the way.

In Episode 112 of So you want to be a writer: Grammar mistakes you should correct, visit a book store with no books, and Chuck Palahniuk releases a colouring book for adults. Find out which six dialogue habits are killing your story and discover the meaning of milquetoast. Also: meet romance writer Kylie Scott, find out if it’s worth pitching to overseas publishers, and discover how to make an editor happy.

Sometimes you have to travel light (pardon the pun), whether that’s overseas or just to do a shoot down the road. Or maybe you’re just not ready to invest in a whole heap of lighting equipment. Well, the good news is that you can often rely on just one light – if you’re smart about the way you use it.

In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss what you can do in different situations where lighting is needed, and how to solve the problem with just one light, but still get magnificent results.

In Episode 111 of So you want to be a writer: Find out which authors took more than five years to write their books, why Judy Blume opened a book shop at age 78, and what really goes on in an author’s day. Plus: learn the meaning of “bucolic”, meet Steve Lewis, co-author of Secret City, and discover how to use Thunderclap for your next book launch. More advice on using unobtrusive speech tags and why being a good literary citizen will help you sell more books.

“I never have enough time!” It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We’re all pressed for time and it can be tough to carve out a section of your week so that you can work on your photography. But the reality is you don’t need to wait till you have a huge chunk of time to work on your craft. You can get “photofit” in just 5 minutes a day.

In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss how you can improve your photography with a range of smart exercises that you can do in just five minutes a day. And you don’t need … Read the rest

In Episode 110 of So you want to be a writer: The worst ways to begin your novel and things authors should know. Discover how to turn your “off” writing days into “on” days and how to refill your creative well. How a “mommy blog” ruined the blogger’s life. You’ll learn our word of the week: “avuncular” and meet author of “The Paper House”, Anna Spargo-Ryan.